It's all gone wrong

With all the ripping out of the old wires you will end up having to get the walls patched with plaster, sanded and painted so it would be worth checking what products the builders need to use so that it aligns with your smell sensitivity.

Most houses need this every 20-30 years anyway as the old insulation degrades over time and the wiring regs change too. 

It may be worth asking them to put the cables in conduits so any future require does not  need you to rip all this out again - you just pull new cables through the conduits - that is certainly how it do it in all the renovations now. Just a thought - a little expense now saves a lot of expense when you are your mothers age.

I hope it all works out well.

We've got conduits for some of the wires and they're a pain in the bum, they get in the way of others things and they look ugly, specially as they age and get off coloured. I'm OK with plaster, dust I can deal with using a mask and the quote I've had 4-5k dosen't include redecorating, I still want to teach my son decorating and use non VOC paints, paint does bother me.

Because this house has been extended and stairs moved and stuff like that over the last 50 years, I think a lot of the stuffs been done badly, or "farmer built" as its called round here, I'd rather have it done right than have to do it all again when Mum's gone and I come to sell the place. I might see how much extra it would cost to have all the ceiling light fitting done too, as whilst they're legal, we can't use any metal fittings and I think some of the lights in the kitchen aren't so good either and it would be good to have them on seperate rigs so as we can have one set on, but not both.

I think theres som gas pipe's that could be removed too as the old ones were left when the central heating was put in, instead of the old back boiler that we didn't know was there until we had a leak.

Theres a couple of hearths that I'd like to be rid of too, they protrude into the kitchen and living room and whilst it might only be a foot or so, it's a big lump out of the middle of the floor.

I'm OK with a bit of a project and I'd rather have everything done in one swell foop than bits and pieces.

My electrician used to train electricians and although there are a few on the island there's very few that are qualified to sign off on all the work. A lot of people won't come to the island as its to far away and fuel is so costly.

Twice you mentioned an island in this thread; I shan't ask, and I can see how that complicates things.  A long time ago, I was in the Navy; we had no one to call upon but ourselves when things broke, so planning for unknown eventualities meant a lot of time and effort spent on carting spares around.  So I get the predicament you are in.

My concern is always that things are done safely and properly with electrics and gas.  It would be a very bad day for you if not.

I agree with you.  Fortunately, I spent an inheritance on solar power, so the sun runs our air conditioning, and we hunker down in the cool as much as we can in the summer.  Anything over 35 is debilitating, I find, so we do what we have to in the mornings and then shut up shop and keep cool under the 'air' for the rest of the day.

I'd like your winter temperatures, but not you're summer ones, my idea of pleasant is a bit different to that of many others, I'm a pale northern flower and anything over 23.C, is to hot for me.

Oh yes!  I am not a lover of being cold and wet.  That said, we get really cold here, relatively speaking.  This summer, our garden maxed out at 47C.  Winters normally see daytime temperatures around 5C and around zero overnight, and on extreme nights it can get down to -5C.  So, our temperature differential is greater than the UK's often, and we are just not used to such.  But it soon warms, and we get back to pleasant temperatures by early March usually.

I bet if you came back the wind and rain would be a shock!

Somebody has to.  

I forgot you live in Spain.

Ha!  Well, it would be a change from very rural southern Spain, and I doubt the price differential would buy us anything like the sort of place we have now.  But it's an intriguing idea, not least because the boss is Welsh, but from the bottom half of the country.

Theres a lot of property for sale now and its a bit of a buyers market, so if you fancy coming back have a look at online estate agents, you might be pleasantly surprised at how affordable the island is.

Theres a lot of property for sale now and its a bit of a buyers market, so if you fancy coming back have a look at online estate agents, you might be pleasantly surprised at how affordable the island is.

I agree with you.  Fortunately, I spent an inheritance on solar power, so the sun runs our air conditioning, and we hunker down in the cool as much as we can in the summer.  Anything over 35 is debilitating, I find, so we do what we have to in the mornings and then shut up shop and keep cool under the 'air' for the rest of the day.

I'd like your winter temperatures, but not you're summer ones, my idea of pleasant is a bit different to that of many others, I'm a pale northern flower and anything over 23.C, is to hot for me.

Oh yes!  I am not a lover of being cold and wet.  That said, we get really cold here, relatively speaking.  This summer, our garden maxed out at 47C.  Winters normally see daytime temperatures around 5C and around zero overnight, and on extreme nights it can get down to -5C.  So, our temperature differential is greater than the UK's often, and we are just not used to such.  But it soon warms, and we get back to pleasant temperatures by early March usually.

I bet if you came back the wind and rain would be a shock!

Somebody has to.  

I forgot you live in Spain.

Ha!  Well, it would be a change from very rural southern Spain, and I doubt the price differential would buy us anything like the sort of place we have now.  But it's an intriguing idea, not least because the boss is Welsh, but from the bottom half of the country.